Several hundred people have lost their lives and over 400,000 homes destroyed in some of the worst flooding in Colombia’s history.

The transport aircraft left RAF Brize Norton on the morning of 21 January 2011 with 400 ShelterBoxes containing tents, food and supplies for those affected by the floods.

The plane landed at Cartagena Airport in the north of the country where the aid boxes were immediately packed onto trucks by the Colombian Army for delivery to the worst affected areas in the south.

The aircraft’s captain, Flight Lieutenant Ben Mountfield, said:

It is a privilege to be involved with such a vital humanitarian mission such as that unfolding in Colombia. The C-17 has a world class lift capability and to be able to put this to use improving the lives of the victims is very rewarding.